Doppiegagger
by wyndsong
Summary: Logan finds a mysterious little girl in the woods. Who is she, where did she come from? Summaries are annoying i know, but just read and see if you like!


Okay . the name of the story right now is "Doppiegagger". Which is, believe me, subject to change. Its my first fanfiction so please be nice, but honest. The primary characters are Logan, Gambit, Jean, Rogue, Beast and the Professor. Plus my mysterious little girl. I do not own the x-men or anything even remotely related to them . except for a few comic books. The little girl however is all mine * snarls menacingly * enjoy.  
  
Doppiegagger  
  
His eyes glinted dimly in the late afternoon sun. He raised his nose in the air and inhaled deeply. Everything was as he expected it to be, the heady scents of pine and cedar offset by the sweetness of the wildflowers growing in their shade. There were lilacs not too far away, seemingly in full bloom. There was the tang of the water from the lake, moist and humid in the crispness of the lengthening day. And there were the ever-present odours of animal life, the squirrels, foxes, rabbits and deer that populated the fair sized forest behind the mansion in Westchester, New York.  
The man, known to his friends as Logan, and to his professional associates, be they friends or enemies, as Wolverine, turned quietly back towards the house. Already he could pick up faint traces of spice in the air, the promise of a hot, southern supper making his stomach growl. Which was fine ... except he couldn't explain the answering growl that drifted to his ears from the brush right next to him.  
Turning swiftly, adamantium claws popping without thought from the backs of his hands, he crouched slightly, ready to confront whatever had made the noise. Out of the shadows appeared a scruffy looking wolf. The creature's head was bowed slightly, ears flat against its skull, tail tucked between its hind legs. Recognizing that the wolf wasn't looking for a fight, it was in fact more frightened of Logan than Logan was of it, Wolverine stepped back a pace and slowly retracted his claws.  
"Hey now darlin'," crooned the Wolverine, "its alright, I aint gonna hurtcha."  
The wolf, now looking rather uncertain of itself, backed off a pace as well, and whined deep in its throat.  
"Now, now, what's-a matter? " Whispered Logan, "huh, darlin'?"  
Looking behind itself apprehensively, the wolf continued to back away, all the while keeping up the deep-throated whining. Bolder now, Wolverine stepped tentatively forward, following the beast's backwards steps into the bushes.  
"Oh ... shit." said Logan, so softly, the sleeping child never even stirred as it lay quietly in the middle of the cluster of shrubs. The wolf, certain now that this human would help her, nosed Logan's hand gently, turning her teary yellow eyes to face his blue ones, pleading him to take the child to its own kind. Logan, baffled by the recent events (he hadn't detected anybody else's presence in the woods earlier ... where had the wolf and kid come from?) gently lifted the little girl into his arms.  
  
**********  
  
"Hey petite! I tol' you to stay away from mah cookin'!" yelled the man known as Gambit to a young woman with flaming red hair. "don' you be touchin' none o' dat!" came the exasperated reprimand as the carrot-topped Jean Grey stealthily added spices to the bubbling pot. "I just thought it could use a little paprika," said Jean innocently, as she beat a hasty retreat into the living room. Remy LeBeau, aka Gambit, just grumbled and glared at the disappearing form while attempting to right the wrongs the woman had done to his precious creation of culinary delight.  
  
When the kitchen door swung open some minutes later, the Cajun didn't even turn around before growling "dat bettah not be paprika you holdin' homme!" to the much confused Wolverine. For his part, Logan just stared uncomprehendingly at the curious swamp rat before clearing his throat to gain him some proper attention. "Qu'est-ce qu'il y'a maintenant?!" cried Gambit as his attention was once again torn from his supper preparations.  
  
A faint "mon dieu" was all the fire he could muster after Remy saw what it was that Logan carried. "Where did she come from?" asked the Cajun. Wolverine just shrugged, "found 'er in the woods. Some wolf bitch led me to 'er. Never even smelled either of 'em till I found 'er.  
  
"Whatcha gonna do wit 'er?" asked Gambit.  
"Dunno," replied Wolverine, "figured I'd best let Chuck take care o'that ... after all, they're his woods. Not my problem what he keeps lying around in 'em!" still upset by his inability to smell the girl.  
  
Just then the girl began to stir. She sleepily rubbed her eyes and mumbled meaningless words in a dreamlike tone. "Viens ici petite" said Gambit, holding out his arms. Wolverine gratefully passed the child to him. "Tiens tiens, we're all friends 'ere, petite," he calmly explained, for the young girl was beginning to look a bit agitated at waking up in a strange man's arms. She looked about her uncertainly, cautiously sniffing and peering into all the dark corners of the kitchen. Apparently satisfied, she turned her attention to the two men. Tentatively reaching up, she touched Gambit's cheek, put her face against his neck, and breathed deeply. A small sigh escaped her. Changing focus, she did the same to Wolverine, who had been standing quite close in his curiosity. Again she sighed. Then she began to squirm and whimper in Remy's arms, so that he let her down. Wandering about on all fours, she explored the kitchen, staying within sight of both men at all times.  
  
Remy turned his questioning eyes to Wolverine. Logan just shrugged and mumbled, "found 'er with a wolf?" looking back at the girl, who had found some cookies in a cupboard and was munching them happily, all Gambit could say is "go get Charles."  
  
************  
  
Some time later, after the child had been bathed, fed, and cooed over by the x-women, professor Charles Xavier held a meeting with his senior most students in his study. The late-afternoon sun shone brightly through the dusty curtains as the child, now seated in Xavier's lap, looked curiously at the strange bunch of creatures assembled before her. She seemed to be quite receptive to Gambit and Wolverine but wary of Scott and Bishop. Storm, Jean and Rogue were all her favorites as it was they who gave her the good yummies and the nice hot-puddle swim. But most surprisingly, it was Beast to whom she was the most attached. Apparently the blue fur was not an item of fear for the girl, but a badge of trust. Furred things were always nicer than non-furred things ... at least in her short experience.  
"Well, my x-men," said professor Xavier, "it appears this child is indeed a mutant. She possesses not only the ability to mask her presence, which was why Wolverine could not detect a scent, but also some low-grade telepathy and empathy. Low-grade only because it seems to work mostly on animals and little, or not at all, on humans." as he said this the professor's cat, who had wandered into the study sometime during the assembly, hopped gracefully onto the child's lap, where he was met with welcome arms and soft purring noises.  
With a bemused glance at the cat, Xavier continued. "There is also evidence that she possesses enhanced senses, like those of Wolverine, although that may also just be another effect of the telepathic/empathic ability. She appears to be about four or five years old, slightly malnourished, although by no means starving, precocious, curious and intelligent. Her speech has never been developed, and her means of communication are mostly non-language noises and body posture. I believe with a little time and effort though, that her schooling could be brought up to a normal five-year-old's level."  
"Which still don't explain what she was doing in yer woods, chuck." added Wolverine.  
"Quite so," nodded the professor, "her presence there is still a mystery, and as to the wolf who led you to her, I believe the animal has served its purpose by bringing her here, and, as it was no longer needed, went back to wherever it originally found the girl."  
"So what y'all're sayin is, if we fahnd the wolf, we fahnd out where the girl came from?" interjected Rogue.  
"Indeed," Xavier continued, "but the task is harder than it seems, since the wolf as well as the girl left no scent for wolverine to pick up, and the only one here who can communicate with such an animal is the girl herself."  
"Girl, girl, girl!" cried Gambit, "the petite, she need a real name now, if she be livin 'ere for a while!"  
"Who's gonna name 'er gumbo, you?" growled Logan.  
"Peut-être," mused gambit, "Remy know lots-a pretty femme names..."  
"Ovah my dead body, swamp rat!" swore Rogue "that girl's gettin a right proper name, not some whore's workin words!"  
"Chere!" sputtered Gambit, wounded that she would imply such a thing of him.  
"In any event," interposed the professor, "she will be staying with us for a little while, so for the time her care is in your hands. Storm, Rogue, Jean, a strong female, motherly influence is needed, so her primary care will be given into one of your hands."  
"Ah really don mahnd, if that's all rahght with you two" Rogue put in. Jean shrugged, "she doesn't seem to like Scott very much, so I don't think I'd be that good of a person anyways",  
"It is fine with me as well," Storm said, "although I reserve the right to spoil the child mercilessly, as is necessary"  
Rogue laughed "then its settled, sugah, y'all are coming home with me!" she held her arms out to the little girl, who, having been watching the exchange with interest, seemed to agree with the decision and went to the Rogue's motherly embrace.  
The rest of the x-men, taking this as the end of the meeting, began to leave as well, leaving Gambit in the rear muttering to himself "Annabelle ... non, peut-être Julie? Claudia? ... Hmmm."  
  
********  
  
It had been a week since Wolverine had first found the child. His attempts at tracking the wolf had proven futile as, even when he picked up a scent, print, spoor sample or patch of fur, it disappeared or was confused with the coyotes and rare wolf packs that wandered through the woods not far from the mansion. The child, however, was having a much better week than Logan. She'd flourished under Rogue's care and the professor's tutelage and was now speaking some few words, as well as walking upright (and escaping Rogue's watchful eyes whenever the chance arose!).  
"Now where has that chil' gotten off to now?" muttered Rogue, as she searched through the living room in an attempt to find the girl. Beast, who had appeared silently at the doorway some time during her investigations, cleared his throat discreetly and pointed to the small shape that was hidden behind his bulk.  
"I believe this is the young anthropoid you seek, dear rogue?" Beast said, as the little girl gave him a disgusted look for revealing her presence, and wandered back to Rogue's side.  
"Where was she?" asked Rogue.  
"The young one has been following me around all day, actually" explained Beast, "although she shows little to no interest in my scientific endeavors, I just cant seem to be rid of my miniature doppelganger."  
The child, upon hearing the word "doppelganger" which she found quite amusing, proceeded to dance around Rogue chanting "doppiegagger, doppiegagger" at the top of her lungs.  
"Beast!" sighed Rogue, "what have I tol you about usin that kahnd of language around the young'un?!"  
At the sight of Rogue's chagrined visage, beast beat a hasty retreat.  
Just then Gambit appeared in the doorway.  
"C'mon petites, le professeur 'as called a meetin." he said, reaching to pick up the little girl, "yo're gonna finally get a name!"  
Excited, the girl cooed happily and began chanting "name, name, name, name"... although her dancing was somewhat limited by the Cajun's strong embrace.  
  
********  
  
"As it is obvious the girl came from human parents ... and by human I mean either mutant or non-mutant, she must have at one point been called something." stated the professor to the assembled x-men. Gambit and Rogue sat next to each other on a loveseat next to the left wall. Wolverine hung back near the doorframe, Jean and Scott held hands on the couch, which they shared with Storm, and Beast held the little girl while sitting on the floor next to the professor. Bishop had decided to take some personal time and was nowhere to be found.  
"Therefore I have decided that, now that the girl is trusting of my presence, I will attempt to search her memories for some secret to her past. Where she came from or what her name is. I've explained the procedure as best I can to her, and she seems not to mind. Do you child?"  
At this point she shook her head and said, "No mind. Pack. Family."  
"Yes we are your family," said the Beast, hugging the young child, "and we'll never do anything to hurt or abandon you."  
"Good." said the child solemnly, breaking the seriousness of her response with a huge grin.  
"All right then, let's begin," said the professor. "Beast? Jean?"  
Beast passed the child to the professor as Jean came and sat down next to the two. She held the little girl's hand as Xavier closed his eyes. Soon all three appeared to be in a trancelike state.  
  
*****  
*Jean? * Called the professor's astral form.  
*I am here* replied Jean, *as is the child*  
* All right then, we begin. *  
The three vague forms began drifting across an alien landscape. Presently they found themselves in a dense forest.  
*This appears to be the most recent memory, apart from her stay at the mansion* said the professor. Jean concurred.  
Then they found themselves face to face with the little girl and a large wolf. The girl was riding on the back of the wolf. Other wolves flitted in and out between the trees like shadows. The girl whined slightly and sent a mental picture to the wolf of paws on the ground. He stopped and let her dismount. Then they continued on. Another wolf, this one smaller and darker in colour, appeared in front of the pair. When he communicated with the other wolf, they seemed to refer to the child as ... well ... a sort of grub. An idea of white skin and a mouth. There was a sense of danger, as she was a human, and humans were not to be trusted. Other wolves appeared as well and furthered this opinion. The wolf she had been riding growled in disgust and made motions to continue forward. The other wolves let it, but none followed. Instead they began going back the way they had come.  
*Looks like she's been abandoned at least twice in her short life* sighed Jean telepathically.  
*Indeed* agreed the professor, *lets continue on* 


End file.
